Recommended Scanners For Cut Paperbacks

Rand Brittain · 03-31-2011, 06:23 PM

I have some old paperback books I'd like to scan and turn into EPUBs. They're quite old but not rare, so I don't mind cutting them apart in order to get at the text.

Can anyone recommend a scanner that doesn't cost an outrageous amount (probably not more than $150) that's available today that I could use to scan these books in? It would be great if it had a tray feeder, which some printer/scanner/copiers seems to have. I'm not sure which brands have the best software support or reliability, so I come to you for advice.

Toxaris · 04-01-2011, 07:14 AM

I personally use a sheet feeder copier/scanner at work... It sends me the results as pdf in my mail.

I think that sheet feeders are not that cheap though...

DSpider · 04-01-2011, 07:41 PM

Well, do you have a camera ? Because there's a website that holds many many designs for a potentially sub $20 scanner (if you have at least a 6-8 MP camera):

http://www.diybookscanner.org

Also, you could either run it through ScanTailor and produce black and white (not grayscale, grayscale takes up a lot more space), which would be the fast way, or you could run it through ABBY FineReader and proofread them, style them, etc., and go for quality instead.

Rand Brittain · 04-08-2011, 01:47 PM

For the record, I got a Canon Pixma MX340 with a 25-sheet feeder for $69 and it worked fine.

wannabee · 04-14-2011, 08:16 PM

$69! Unbelievable. I paid $4,500 for my first colour printer and sure didn't sheet feed. My last printer (Also a Canon) was $199 and it sheet feeds, scans, faxes and prints. What will they do next?

radiotales · 05-03-2011, 05:47 AM

I have an Epson GT-S50, duplex scanning with ADF. True, it's considerably more
money than you're looking for. As I remember it was around $300 USD.
But as it will scan a 200 page book in about ten minutes, it's worth every penny.

03-31-2011, 06:23 PM	#1
Rand Brittain Bookmaker Posts: 434 Karma: 2143650 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Cybook Opus	Recommended Scanners For Cut Paperbacks I have some old paperback books I'd like to scan and turn into EPUBs. They're quite old but not rare, so I don't mind cutting them apart in order to get at the text. Can anyone recommend a scanner that doesn't cost an outrageous amount (probably not more than $150) that's available today that I could use to scan these books in? It would be great if it had a tray feeder, which some printer/scanner/copiers seems to have. I'm not sure which brands have the best software support or reliability, so I come to you for advice.

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04-01-2011, 07:14 AM	#2
Toxaris Wizard Posts: 4,520 Karma: 121692313 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Heemskerk, NL Device: PRS-T1, Kobo Touch, Kobo Aura	I personally use a sheet feeder copier/scanner at work... It sends me the results as pdf in my mail. I think that sheet feeders are not that cheap though...

04-01-2011, 07:41 PM	#3
DSpider Evangelist Posts: 450 Karma: 343115 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Romania Device: PW2 2014	Well, do you have a camera ? Because there's a website that holds many many designs for a potentially sub $20 scanner (if you have at least a 6-8 MP camera): http://www.diybookscanner.org Also, you could either run it through ScanTailor and produce black and white (not grayscale, grayscale takes up a lot more space), which would be the fast way, or you could run it through ABBY FineReader and proofread them, style them, etc., and go for quality instead.

04-08-2011, 01:47 PM	#4
Rand Brittain Bookmaker Posts: 434 Karma: 2143650 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Cybook Opus	For the record, I got a Canon Pixma MX340 with a 25-sheet feeder for $69 and it worked fine.

04-14-2011, 08:16 PM	#5
wannabee Media Bloke Posts: 2,382 Karma: 113956855 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: NSW - Australia Device: iOS	$69! Unbelievable. I paid $4,500 for my first colour printer and sure didn't sheet feed. My last printer (Also a Canon) was $199 and it sheet feeds, scans, faxes and prints. What will they do next?

05-03-2011, 05:47 AM	#6
radiotales Plugh Posts: 15 Karma: 100000 Join Date: May 2011 Location: Seattle Device: Pandigital and Kindle3	I have an Epson GT-S50, duplex scanning with ADF. True, it's considerably more money than you're looking for. As I remember it was around $300 USD. But as it will scan a 200 page book in about ten minutes, it's worth every penny.

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